12-foot alligator struck, killed by vehicle in Dare County

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Dare County, N.C. (WTKR) - A 12-foot alligator was hit and killed by a vehicle around midnight Sunday in Dare County.

It happened on Highway 64 between Milltail Road and Creef Cut, in the East Lake area of the county. That area is within the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service deputy on scene estimated that the gator was about 800 pounds.

Alligators in Northeastern North Carolina aren't as uncommon as they may seem.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes on their website that staffers at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge are aware of the presence of alligators but that there hasn't been much thorough research of their populations.

Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge Biologist Dennis Stewart says the alligator that was hit and killed was one that he'd seen before.

"We've been watching the alligator for several years now. The alligator cruises up and down the highway canal there. Shows up in the spring and kind of disappears later in the summer," he told NewsChannel 3's Todd Corillo.